No Change in policy on Myanmar desp

Subject: No Change in policy on Myanmar despite unrest.
No change in policy on Myanmar despite unrest
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BANGKOK -- There will be no change in Thailand's policy towards
Myanmar despite recent unrest there, Thai
Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has said.
He said he wanted to see Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia join Asean "as
soon as possible" and that he planned
to visit Yangon late next month or in early March.
"I envisage an Asean comprising all 10 countries of South-east Asia,
an Asean-10 that will derive its
cohesiveness not only from shared interests, but also from a shared
identity and shared aspirations among its
people," he told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on
Tuesday night.
Asean had agreed to allow Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar to join the
grouping as full members at the same time,
but did not specify a time.
Gen Chavalit, who said he was a close friend of the military
government in Yangon, said Thailand would stick to
the Asean policy of constructive engagement in dealing with Myanmar.
He said: "We are trying to do our best to make them understand what
other people are thinking about them."
He also said Thailand would work to strengthen the Asean Regional
Forum, a relatively new forum created as
part of the annual foreign ministers meeting of Asean to discuss
security issues with major powers. He said in his
written speech to the FCCT: "We will work to develop the Asean
Regional Forum into an effective mechanism
for confidence-building, through greater openness and regular
exchanges among political and military leaders in
the region.
[Jaunary 16, 1997, The Straits Times].
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